Did you know that every year in America up to 40 million Turkeys are slaughtered for the celebrations? Never mind the huge influx in poultry deaths, but what about all the cruelty surrounds the mass production of Turkeys. The same cruelty, unfortunately is common in any type of mass animal breeding production however given the time of year, my focus is currently on Turkeys. Right from the day they are born Turkeys bred for meat in battery farms are exposed to a world of stress and pain, for what short, rushed lives they have. Some of the following content will be a little disturbing to some, especially the video, so viewer discretion is advised.

Turkeys as you might imagine them

In order to prevent aggressive behaviour between the groups of Turkeys in intensive farming utilities, the tops of their beaks and toes are often cut off (without anesthetic) in order to prevent major injuries. This practice can cause infection in the beaks and discomfort thus leading to the Turkeys refusing to eat. They can also refuse food due to the stress of close living and general factory life. In this case the Turkeys are often force fed using a pipe, in a similar fashion to the Fois gras Geese highlighted in a previous article. This all seems pretty “Dark Ages” but unfortunately it is very 2012.

The Turkey you see on wildlife documentaries or on Thanksgiving posters are nowhere near the Turkey on your plate, due to genetic engineering. Turkeys have been bred out to grow twice as fast, twice as fat and have huge breasts in order to satisfy customer needs and demands. This abnormal growth can be very harmful and lead to a number of health issues including heart trouble, lung collapse and deformed legs due to the carrying of extra weight.

Factory farmed Turkeys [Image 1: Vegans peace home]

Butterball is a name which is pretty familiar to Americans around this time of year. They are one of America’s largest producers of Turkeys, and repeatedly being uncovered as one of the cruelest producers of turkey. Animal welfare organisations time and time again have exposed cases of abuse towards the animals kept on intense Turkey farms and a video was this year released by Mercy for Animals outlining some of the disgusting practices happening on Butterball farms today. The video shows keepers, kicking and injuring the already stressed out animals and one farmer even admits that the wounds these Turkeys carry are often infested with maggots. Imagine, a live animal being feasted on by maggots?

I would rather not, but it is happening every day , and I cannot highlight enough how important it is for you to be careful in choosing where you get your meat from, or better still, try a veggie option.